


whenever it's hard, you can get a hug from me

by ActivelyWeird



Category: Pentagon (Korea Band)
Genre: (sort of), (the lightest angst), Alternate Universe - Flower Shop, Break Up, Florist Kang Hyunggu | Kino, Florists, Fluff, Gen, Getting Together, Language of Flowers, Light Angst, M/M, it can be read as platonic, the singular swear here accounts for the rating
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-18
Updated: 2021-01-18
Packaged: 2021-03-16 10:21:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,353
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28829556
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ActivelyWeird/pseuds/ActivelyWeird
Summary: Hyunggu ran a flower shop because he loved to see smiles brighten other people's faces. That includes Yuto.
Relationships: Adachi Yuto & Kang Hyunggu | Kino, Adachi Yuto/Kang Hyunggu | Kino, Kang Hyunggu | Kino & Yeo Changgu | Yeo One
Comments: 5
Kudos: 26





	whenever it's hard, you can get a hug from me

**Author's Note:**

  * For [kidokii](https://archiveofourown.org/users/kidokii/gifts).



> ... I barely know Pentagon yet here's my second fic for them. I blame Emily entirely, she planted this idea in my hand and suddenly I had to drop everything and write it. This technically isn't a gift fic but all credit goes to her for the idea. 
> 
> Title is from [Hug](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j69PEX9bzRY) by Seventeen. I also wrote this entire fic while listening to [That's okay](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j2aQ_NqeTNw) by D.O.

Opening the shop in the morning was a familiar routine for Hyunggu, one that brought him comfort in its repetitiveness. 

First, check on all the plants, making sure they were all doing okay before tending to any that needed special care. By this point, his tea would’ve been ready and he would sip at it as he scrolled through his iPad, replying to emails and perhaps playing more than one round of whatever new addictive game he had found. 

Soon enough, 8 AM would almost be there and he would place his half-empty mug on the desk and make sure the little supply of hot chocolate he kept in the winter for his customers was still full. The weather didn’t predict any rain, which hopefully would mean more customers that just happened to wander in. The days with customers who weren’t looking for particularly anything were the days that Hyunggu liked the best. 

On this particular day, he was lucky with four customers who had appeared in the morning. After taking details for the floral arrangements for an outdoor garden party and prepping two bouquets for a husband that wanted to surprise their wife for their 15th anniversary, he felt at peace.

This was where he was at his best, helping other people and listening to their stories while prepping beautiful flowers he spent most of his days surrounded with. Even his little apartment above the store had a tiny succulent shelf next to his bed (and perhaps a potted plant by the door). 

Even on the days where a customer might wander in and get upset because Hyunggu didn’t happen to carry a particular flower or the customer wanted a flower that was out of season (he was a florist, not Mother Nature, no matter how much Shinwon teased him about his green thumb), he was able to find peace by finding them a flower that was just like the one they wanted. Or if he couldn’t, he would direct them to where they could.

Just minutes before he was planning to pull out his sandwich for a quick lunch, he heard the bell above the door give a gentle jingle. He turned around to greet the customer before a warm smile overcame his face.

“Changgu-hyung! What are you doing here? I thought you were volunteering at the children’s center today?” he asked, though not unkindly. It was not often he was able to see his hyung, who was busy studying to become a teacher. 

“Ah, I was. That’s why I’m here,” Changgu said. “One of the girls at the center wanted to make a flower crown and now everyone wants to make one. Problem is, we don’t exactly have any flowers growing considering it is in the middle of winter, so I am here to purchase some for all the kids.” 

“Oh, that is so nice of you, hyung. Hm, I actually think I have a small collection of daisies you could take back with you, come tell me what you think,” Hyunggu said. He led Changgu to a small area in the back of the shop where various flower displays were placed somewhat haphazardly in an arrangement that somehow managed to look intentional. 

“Wow, these are perfect. And you have what should be just the right amount, there aren’t too many kids,” Changgu said, awe in his voice. “How you manage to find the perfect flower every time will never cease to amaze me. Knowing you, these flowers probably also have some special meaning.” 

Hyunggu blushed. “Well, maybe. Daisies often mean innocence and they really are just kids… I just thought they were perfect,” he said as he carefully placed the last few flowers into a bundle for Changgu to carry back. 

“Let me grab you a bag from the counter, I don’t you to drop these and crush the flowers,” and he carefully set the flowers down as he bent down to reach for a bag from underneath the counter. When he lifted his head back up, he saw Changgu pulling out his wallet, and placed a gentle hand on his wrist stopping it in its place.

“No hyung, these are for free. They’re for your students, knowing they will get joy from these is enough from me,” Hyunggu said. He could never charge his hyung for these flowers, knowing how out of the way he had gone to get them.

Changgu blushed, “It wasn’t anything much, but I guess I shouldn’t turn down free flowers should I?” 

Hyunggu tucked the flowers into the bag and handed them to Changgu. “No, you should not. And you better have some cute flower crown stories to share with me on Sunday!” he half threatened, with a wide grin on his face.

“Of course, I’ll try to get some pictures too. Alright, I better be off, otherwise, they might think I’ve wandered off. See you later!” Changgu called over his shoulder as he exited the store. 

Hyunggu gave a little wave to his retreating back before going to clean up the slight mess he had made in the back of the shop. Some might say giving flowers away was bad for business, but Hyunggu always knew he was too sentimental to ever care about that. 

He often found himself throwing in discounts or giving bouquets away entirely when the customer would so much as twitch at seeing the price. Hyunggu literally ran a flower shop, he knew flowers weren’t cheap, but he also knew more than anyone the meaning that flowers could hold.

It wasn’t necessary to speak some sort of special flower language to appreciate the beauty and compassion behind a bouquet of roses for example. Flowers weren’t necessarily the first gift most people thought of nowadays, but seeing his friends’ faces light up when they received a handcrafted bouquet from Hyunggu always reminded him why he was doing this in the first place.

To see the light brighten in someone else’s eyes, and to make their day better, even if it was just for a moment.

Soon enough, however, he was pulled out his thoughts by the sound of the bell jingling again. With summer coming, many people seemed to be celebrating wedding anniversaries, graduations, and more, which meant more parties that Hyunggu got to create arrangements for. 

He always thought about asking Wooseok for help during these busy days; if only he wasn’t scared that he would accidentally destroy half his flowers while trying to pick up a ribbon off the floor.

The day passed by quickly enough, and with less than 30 minutes to closing, Hyunggu began wiping down his counter to remove all the soil that was there. 

However, different than most nights, a customer walked in just as he was about to switch to the back counters.

Hyunggu turned to see a boy, about the same age as him, dressed in a vest and dress pants, and shoes that were probably shinier than Hyunggu’s floors had ever been. He was clutching his phone tightly in his hand, looking around the store until he noticed Hyunggu standing there.

“Oh, oh my gosh, hi! Um, I was just wondering if you help me with making a bouquet for someone?” the boy asked, his deep voice making him jump a bit in surprise. Then again, if he pictured the guy in a leather jacket, it didn’t seem too far off actually.

“Of course!” Hyunggu said, quickly gathering himself. The boy looked nervous, most likely an important date, if how he was dressed was any indicator. “Any special occasion?” he asked, pulling out the notepad where he kept notes about all the common bouquet flowers. Contrary to popular belief, he did not just have everything about every flower memorized.

“Um, well it’s for a date. We’ve been going steady for almost 2 years,” and at this, the boy blushed furiously, his voice excited. “We have dinner reservations, and then we’re going for a walk in the park, and I… I think I’m going to propose,” the guy said in one breath, wringing his hands.

“Wow, that’s amazing, I’m so happy for you too. You look like you’re really happy with your relationship,” Hyunggu commented. “Maybe a bouquet of multi-colored roses? Like red roses are pretty common for true love, while white roses mean new beginnings? I could show you some other options if you wanted to go with something a bit different from roses.”

The boy hummed for a second. “Roses honestly sound perfect, my boyfriend has always loved the traditional love story things, even if he won’t admit it,” but before the boy could continue his phone buzzed. The boy shot him an apologetic look before checking the notification.

He waited patiently while the other was scanning the message on the phone, absentmindedly wondering if he had any white roses without thorns left before the sound of sniffling broke him out of his reverie. 

Hyunggu looked up to see tears trailing down the other boy’s face, his phone trembling in his hands. Quickly pulling out a tissue from a box nearby, he handed it over. 

“Did something happen?” he asked cautiously, unsure of what caused the other’s outburst. He desperately wanted to reach over and hug the other, it was just his nature, but he also wanted to respect boundaries so he held back.

“He- I... ,” the other couldn’t even finish his voice stuttering badly from how he was crying. Hyunggu was honestly surprised the boy was not full out sobbing, but he figured it was because they were in public.

“Shh, it’ll be okay,” Hyunggu tried to reassure him. “What happened? Did you get some bad news?” 

“I can’t… just,” and without another word, the other turned the phone around so that Hyunggu could see the last message. The name at the top of the screen was “My BF” with several hearts after it. Quickly, he looked towards the most recently sent message and his stomach dropped.

The amazing boyfriend whom this customer had been going steady with for two years, the one who loved traditional romantic gestures and who was going to have been proposed to that night, had broken it off with the customer, who’s named seemed to be Yuto, if he was reading the text right.

Rereading the text twice just to make sure he hadn’t imagined it, he gently turned off the phone and pushed it back towards Yuto. Yuto made no motion to pick it up.

“Yuto… I am so sorry. Can I- Can I hug you?” Hyunggu asked, his voice warm and full of concern. Seeing someone heartbroken was something that no one liked, least of all Hyunggu.

Without replying, Yuto wrapped his arms around Hyunggu, and it was a bit awkward for a second because Yuto was practically two heads taller than Hyunggu but he returned the hug nonetheless. He could feel Yuto trembling in his arms, and he whispered soft nothings, hoping they’d bring him some form of comfort. 

“Yuto, I know I barely know you, but let me just say that if this bastard decided to dump you on the day of your second anniversary for no reason, then he does not deserve you,” Hyunggu said firmly, pulling Yuto in from him so they could face each other.

Yuto carefully wiped at his eyes with the tissue before crumpling it slightly in his hand. “I really thought he was the one…” he mumbled. “It’s just… so shocking. I don’t understand it.”

“I know, but don’t try to rationalize it. It wasn’t your fault, and I can tell that without even knowing you,” Hyunggu said. He strode towards a display of flowers towards the front of the shop, and he could practically feel Yuto’s confused glance on his back.

Ignoring it for a moment, he quickly found the flower he was looking for and carefully cut it, and wrapped it in the plastic before heading back to the counter.

“I know these aren’t roses you can give, but this is a tulip… the yellow ones are supposed to represent hope. It’s hard to have hope right now, but I hope one day, you can think back to this flower, and remember that it’ll be okay.” Hyunggu carefully handed the flower to Yuto, who gently cradled it in his hands.

“I, thank you….,” Yuto trailed off, not knowing how to address Hyunggu. 

“My name is Hyunggu. We’re about the same age aren’t we, we don’t have to formal with each other if you don’t want to be,” he offered, and Yuto gave him a tiny smile.

“Thank you, Hyunggu. This genuinely means a lot. I guess I have some dinner plans to cancel,” Yut said with a bitter chuckle.

Hyunggu rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. “If you don’t want to cancel it, I could go with you?” he offered, then immediately tried to explain himself. “Not that you can’t cancel it if you want, just, if you don’t want to be alone right now, I guess we could go together? If you want of course, no pressure. Okay, I am just going to stop talking now.” 

This time, Yuto let out a light laugh, though it was marred slightly by the dried tear tracks still present on his face. “It’s okay, I know what you mean. And, actually, if you don’t mind, I would really appreciate some company right now.” 

“Of course,” Hyunggu smiled, trying to act calm. He was always good at being a friend, but somehow making a friend wasn’t exactly his forte. Quickly glancing around the shop, he gave Yuto a sheepish look. “Give me fifteen minutes to clean up and get changed?” 

“No problem, I’ll be here,” Yuto said, and in record time, Hyunggu had cleaned up everything of importance that couldn’t be left for later and changed into a more restaurant appropriate outfit before heading back down to meet Yuto again.

“Hyunggu?” Yuto spoke up once he saw him coming down the stairs. 

“Yes?” 

“Thank you.” 

“Always.” 

And if the two walked to the restaurant together hand-in-hand, well, no one would know but them.

**Author's Note:**

> [Twitter](https://twitter.com/activelyweird) | [Tumblr](https://activelyweird.tumblr.com/)


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